In this scene, Catherine Moddes, front, as Miss Prism, checks out an old purse while Connor Feivor, left, as Jack Worthing, Mia Olsen as Gwendolen Fairfax, Katie Lynch as Lady Bracknell and Jesus Puente as Canon Chasuble look on. “The Importance of Being Earnest,” a comedy by Oscar Wilde, opens tonight (May 16) in the Studio Theatre at Tremper High School, continuing Friday and Saturday nights and May 23-25 at the school.

Catherine Moddes, left, as Miss Prism, reacts to an accusation by Lady Bracknell (Katie Lynch). Jesus Puente, as Canon Chasuble, is seen in the background.

photo by paul williams

Kaitlyn Alley, right, as Cecily Cardew, talks with Mia Olsen, who is playing Gwendolen Fairfax, left.

photos by paul williams

In this scene, Catherine Moddes, front, as Miss Prism, checks out an old purse while Connor Feivor, left, as Jack Worthing, Mia Olsen as Gwendolen Fairfax, Katie Lynch as Lady Bracknell and Jesus Puente as Canon Chasuble look on. “The Importance of Being Earnest,” a comedy by Oscar Wilde, opens tonight (May 16) in the Studio Theatre at Tremper High School, continuing Friday and Saturday nights and May 23-25 at the school.

Though “Earnest” was written more than 100 years ago, Olsen said the students “do understand most of the play. I did have to explain some of the jokes to them, but the script is so solid and so funny.”

Part of rehearsing the show, Olsen said, involves learning about Victorian social norms.

“We work with the students, talking about how people in that era would sit in a chair and how they hold their hands,” said Olsen.

She credits assistant director Rachel Proite with helping research the era.

“She’s a Carthage student, a theater education major, and currently (theater teacher) Nic Cicerale’s student teacher at Tremper,” Olsen said. “She has been a big help, especially with accents and Victorian postures and mannerisms.”

“Earnest” is famous for its witty dialogue, and Olsen said the show has been a joy to work on with the students.

A huge appeal, she said, is Wilde’s command of language.

“In today’s society,” she said, “we’re getting sloppier about our language. In this play, his use of vocabulary and surprising word choices make you laugh. It’s kind of novel to use language this way, and there’s a lot of subtle humor in the show.”

The show’s entire title, however — “The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People” — should have tipped them off that “this isn’t a show that takes itself seriously,” Olsen said.

“The Victorians took themselves very seriously, and maybe we do these days, too.

“This is a silly show that pokes fun at that.”

“Earnest,” she added, “has a basic farce plot of getting trapped in lies and lying more to get out of it. It’s part of a long tradition of farces.”

The show is set in 1895 and features “beautiful costumes and a set that has to work for indoor and outdoor scenes and two different locations,” Olsen said.

“It works very well.”

Olsen hopes the audience “will come away from the show with a new appreciation for the English language and an appreciation for the student actors.”

What's it all about: Wilde's comedy, written in 1895, pokes fun at Victorian society and all its rules, using clever wordplay. In the play, responsible, mild-mannered Jack Worthing is harboring a couple of secrets. First, he is in love with his friend Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen. And second, they both think his name is Ernest. In fact, Ernest is Jack’s imaginary alter ego — a troubled younger brother he created so that he could do whatever he liked in London and no one would ever think to judge him. But when Algernon catches on to the scheme, he decides to become Ernest himself in order to woo Jack’s lovely young ward, Cecily. This leads to lots of confusion, naturally.